Ethiopian Airlines

I've flown them twice from Germany to Tanzania and thought they were fine. The service is not exactly not top-class (food wasn't great, pillows and blankets had obviously been used already when we boarded - that happened only once, though - and other small things). But everything went very smoothly, flights on time and all.

I've flown with them from Germany to Addis Ababa and on several domestic flights within Ethiopia. Flights were efficient, mostly on time, the staff were friendly. There are certainly airlines with better food, but is that really important?

They have an excellent safety record - the last fatal accident was 1996, and that was the result of a hijacking rather than a safety problem. As a result of that incident, security checks even on domestic flights to remote destinations were noticeably stricter than I've experienced elsewhere in Africa.

They aren't on the list of airlines prohibited from entering EU airspace.

#2 - I agree with you, for me safety and efficiency is much more important than food and brand new pillows and seat covers etc., but for some people it may matter.